Why There's Going to Be 'A Lot of Carnage' When NASCAR Invades the Los Angeles Coliseum

• NASCAR will visit the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum for the Busch Light Clash on Feb. 6.

• Goodyear ran Clash tire tests at Bowman Gray last October with retired drivers Tony Stewart, Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Clint Bowyer turning laps.

• Bowman Gray, which doubles as a football stadium, was built in 1937 and began hosting NASCAR races in 1949.

The purpose-built asphalt track inside Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum is unlike any other track NASCAR Cup cars will race on.

A quarter-mile in length and relatively flat, it’s very narrow with an “infield” that’s barely there.

In advance of the Feb. 6 Busch Light Clash, the active track that has drawn the most comparisons to the coliseum racing surface is ancient Bowman Gray Stadium in Winston-Salem, N.C. Goodyear ran Clash tire tests at Bowman Gray last October with retired drivers Tony Stewart, Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Clint Bowyer turning laps.

Bowman Gray, which doubles as a football stadium, was built in 1937 and began hosting NASCAR races in 1949. Today, it’s one of the nation’s most successful weekly short tracks, running a summer schedule that features NASCAR Modifieds. The track has become famous as the “Madhouse,” its tight racing surface often producing crashes and frayed tempers.

If Bowman Gray is very similar to the coliseum track, what might drivers expect when they put hulking Cup cars on its quarter-mile compact racing surface?